Miles Morales vs. Spider-Man: When You and Your Blackness Disagree

Omar: You ever get so excited over something that you miss the small details? Like Seeing Dear White People and leaving the theater thinking it was a good movie, but then realizing bit by bit days later it was actually a how-not-to-be-racist paint-by-number book for white people with every possible Black stereotype played out… but you already wrote your review praising it and now you gotta live with the weight of that hindsight? Yeah, that’s kinda where I am at with Miles Morales addressing the “Black Spider-Man moniker” in Spider-Man #2. I touched upon this lightly in the review I wrote for this issue (which I loved, no take-backs). In the issue, we see a vlogger zoom in on footage of Miles’ battle-damaged suit during his fight with Blackheart. Through a large tear it’s evident that this new Spider-Man is a person of color. She is fan-girling over this HARD, as well as Thor, Sam Wilson, and other heroes that are now all over the Marvel Universe. Miles however, isn’t amused in the least. Miles is lookin’ at her video like Taye in the Dormtainment catfish sketch saying “no. All lowercase. Very small period.” Miles moves the conversation to how he just wants to be Spider-Man, not Black Spider-Man. I was fucking with that statement because as a Black kid I’ve gone through that moment in my life. When I was pole-vautling for my high school team I was the only Black pole-vaulter in the school as well as the only Black vaulter at the track meets (thank God that didn’t last after …